Walter Payton
| Walter Payton | |
|---|---|
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Position (s): Halfback |
Jersey number (s): 34 |
| born July 25, 1954 in Columbia , Mississippi | |
| died on November 1, 1999 in South Barrington , Illinois | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1975 - 1987 | |
| NFL Draft : 1975 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4 | |
| College : Jackson State University | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| run up space gain | 16,726 yards |
| Average per run | 4.4 |
| Touchdowns | 110 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Walter Jerry Payton (* 25. July 1954 in Columbia , Mississippi ; † 1. November 1999 in South Barrington , Illinois ) was an American American football poker players in the position of running backs . He played for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL).
Payton died of severe liver disease when he was only 45 years old. He is considered one of the best football players of all time. Due to his consistency and his many records, he is one of the best players who have ever played in the NFL.
Career
Sweetness , as Payton was called, was selected in 1975 after his college education at Jackson State University in the first round of the then NFL draft by the Chicago Bears as the fourth player. Walter Payton played as a running back in the NFL for 13 years. In those 13 years, he only missed one game due to an injury. He only played for the Chicago Bears until his retirement in 1987 . He was a member of the 1985 Bears who won Super Bowl XX in 1986 .
No running back in NFL history has played at such a high level for as long as Walter Payton. He ran 16,726 yards on 3,838 tries in his 190 games for Chicago. He scored 110 run touchdowns and caught 15 pass touchdowns. In 1977 and 1985 he was voted MVP and Best Offensive Player in the NFL. From 1976 to 1980 he won the title for most run yards in the NFC (National Football Conference). At the end of his career, he held 13 NFL records. Including most erlaufenen yards in a career (16,726), most attempts in a career (3,838), most erlaufenen touchdowns in a career (110) and most combined yards in a career (21,803). Today (2012) he still holds some NFL records: with 77 games in which he achieved a gain of 100 yards or more and with nine appearances in the NFL's All Star Game, the Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii. His greatest triumph was the 46:10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX in 1986 . However, Payton only ran for 61 yards on 21 tries and remained without a touchdown.
His best season was in 1977, when he was named NFL Most Valuable Player for the first time . Payton ran 1,852 yards and 14 touchdowns in 339 tries. In addition, he caught 27 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Payton was also named the NFL's Best Offensive Player, leading the league in yards run. The Bears won nine games with 5 losses with MVP Payton and reached the playoffs for the first time since 1963. In 1963 they won the NFL championship. In the Divisional Playoff Game 1977 they lost against the Dallas Cowboys with 37: 7. With 60 yards from 19 attempts and no touchdown, the MVP remained below his options. In 1979 the Bears reached the playoffs again with a great Walter Payton. Ten wins were matched by six defeats. With 1610 yards run in 369 attempts, he led the NFC. He also got 14 running touchdowns. In the wildcard game against Philadelphia Chicago lost 27:17 even though Walter Payton played great and scored 67 yards in 16 attempts and two touchdowns. He couldn't get the Bears into the Super Bowl on his own.
After the players' strike in 1982, which shortened the season to nine games and the death of Bears founder and coaching legend George Halas , Mike Ditka took over the team. With him, the Bears should win their first and to date only Super Bowl in 1986. Despite his old age - for a football player - Payton was still one of the best running backs in the 1980s.
Further honors
Payton is a member of the 1970s and 1980s National Football League All-Decade Team . In 1993 he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and in 1994 he became a member of the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team . He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame . Payton played nine times in the Pro Bowl , the final game of the best players of the season. He was elected to the All Pro Team nine times. Payton received the NFL Man of the Year Award in 1977 . The award was renamed the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award after his death. In 1985 he received the Bert Bell Award .
Web links
- Walter Payton in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Walter Payton in the College Football Hall of Fame
- Statistics by Walter Payton
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Payton, Walter |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Payton, Walter Jerry |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 25, 1954 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Columbia , Mississippi |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 1, 1999 |
| Place of death | South Barrington , Illinois |